It’s a strange scene. I’m sitting at a coffee shop in the middle of the Dubai airport surrounded by little boys skating past on those wheely shoes in front of a Cold Stone Creamery. It seems rather American, yet most of the women passing by are fully clothed head to toe and some of the men are wearing outfits that I’ve only seen before on extras in Indiana Jones movies (not the new one – that was a bit ridiculous). And, with only a 5 hour plane ride until I land in Bangladesh, I’m beginning to feel like it’s going to be quite some time before a see another blonde haired person outside of our group. Complete culture shock is imminent.
Taking a look back over the past few weeks, my summer has simply been building up to June 3rd – my arrival in Bangladesh. I feel that the next two months will be full of intensive changes.
Hi, my name is Michela Blain and I am 20 years old. I am a rising junior studying biology, international studies, and global health at Duke. When researching and writing about microfinance in school, I have focused on its impact on the health and education of women and their families. I am really excited to discover if microfinance is truly as amazing and effective as I have read. Does providing women with finance actually empower them? Can these small loans really have such wide ranging impacts on health, education, and children while also alleviating poverty?
I’m not sure what to expect on this trip, but in the beginning I know I will feel lost – no language, no deep understanding of the Muslim culture, and very little knowledge Bangladesh culture. I feel most unprepared about dealing with and relating to those in extreme poverty that we will meet. After all, they are who BRAC deals with and who they aim to help and lift up. When trying to explain to people about what our DukeEngage project is, I’ve summed it up as working with BRAC and local university students to create a documentary for BRAC through interviewing the clients on how they feel they’re lives have changed since receiving the loans. To actually record real-life narratives of people’s lives…I can’t wait. I can’t wait to take pictures, wear local clothing, and pick up a few phrases in Bangla. I can’t wait to discover the biggest cultural differences, to learn what it is like to live in a developing country, and to later discover through my journaling how much I have changed in only 2 months. I’m trying not to go in with too many expectations since there are certain kinks in our plans that are already a little intimidating. For example - none of us are very experienced in filming, it’s monsoon season in Bangladesh, we will be doing all of our work through translators, and we aren’t even crystal clear about what exactly BRAC wants us to do. I’m also a little worried about people thinking that because we are Westerners, we are trying to impose some sort of “Western” idea on them with our project, when really BRAC will be guiding us throughout the project. However, all in all, I am extremely excited to get on this next plane.
“Half the fun of travel is the aesthetic of lostness.” – Ray Bradbury
Looking forward to everything,
Michela
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